Tuesday, July 21, 2015

1. There has been much talk by certain people of a conspiracy to overthrow Dato Sri Najib as Prime Minister.

2. Is there a conspiracy? Is there someone or some group conspiring i.e moving in secret in the underground to overthrow Najib. There could have been before but apart from people complaining privately about their dissatisfaction with Najib’s administration, no one was planning his overthrow. That is not to say that they did welcome the idea of his resigning or vacating his post. But active underground planning and action there was none.

3. What we do know now is that I had openly called for his stepping down. No conspiracy. Just open declaration to the whole nation that I would like to see Najib cease to be Prime Minister.

4. So if any investigation is to be made, there is no need for detectives or special agents. That there is a move or push for Dato Sri Najib to step down is known to everyone.

5. So again where is the conspiracy!! It is all in the open. There is no need to conspire. There is open campaigning for his ceasing to be Prime Minister.

6. Lately we are seeing many funny statements. The Utusan loudly proclaimed that the Prime Minister had taken action against the Wall Street Journal.

7. Actually it was not legal action or suing for defamation. Just politely asking the Wall Street Journal why do they publish the article.

8. Is there a need to ask that silly question? Isn’t it obvious that as a newspaper the information obtained by Wall Street Journal was sensational. Any newspaper, convinced of the authenticity of the information would have printed it. Of course the local mainstream papers will not for obvious reasons.

9. To ingratiate themselves with the Prime Minister they would rather mislead people. The sub-editors are good at writing misleading headlines. For example when a statement is made to let the task force of four do their work this is headlined as support for the Prime Minister.

10. Then there was a minister who, after saying that the interim report shows nothing wrong with 1MDB, then went on to advise people not to say anything about 1MDB until the report is out. But he himself had made a premature statement.

11. To all comments made against 1MDB, the standard answer is to deny, to say “No it is not true.” It is like somebody upon being asked whether he had stolen the money as alleged, simply denies that he had stolen, expecting the judge to acquit him simply because he denied.

12. There is no denial that money was deposited in the private account. The explanation to UMNO is that it was for the elections. UMNO seems satisfied. Don’t they know that Government money cannot be used to help a political party to win elections? But the money was from donation. Who donated 2 billion Ringgit? No answer.

13. But what about BR1M? Isn’t it Government money, all 7 billion Ringgit and more. That was clever. It is not for elections but given before any election, with the promise of more if the party wins, isn’t it about using Government money to win elections?

14. Truly cash is king!!

15. Then there is this insistence that since Najib was elected, no one has any right to demand he should step down.

16. How short is their memory. Don’t they remember Abdullah who was also elected being asked by Najib to step down. And he did.

17. And I myself, also an elected PM, did step down in 2003.

18. All over the world elected Presidents and Prime Ministers have been asked or forced to step down and they all did. In fact in some countries, if something untoward happens, Ministers, Prime Ministers step down.

19. So don’t be silly and demand that since Najib was elected, no one has a right to ask him to step down. Abdullah won more seats in 2008 than Najib in 2013. If Abdullah was prepared to step down, Najib after his poor performance in the general election should not even offer to be the PM. He should resign from being President of UMNO and head of BN and let somebody else lead and become PM.

20. There is this suggestion that the amendment to the election rules in UMNO was meant to make it more democratic. Very many more members would vote in the UMNO elections than the 2,000 or so delegates to the UMNO General Assembly.

21. Actually the intention is to limit the number of entities involved in the election. The winners would be those getting the biggest number of divisions voting for. Effectively this means the real electors have been reduced from 2,000 to about 190 UMNO divisions. The number of members voting for a candidate is nullified. Far from making UMNO elections more democratic, Najib has actually restricted the right to vote from ordinary members to just the divisions. And Najib has a strangle-hold over most of the division heads.

1. It is true when Najib says he did not do what I advised him to do. But that is not the reason why I want him to step down.

2. Everyone knows that I campaigned for him in the 13th General Election even though he refused to build the bridge, or the double-tracking and electrification of the railways. He also did not accept my views that BR1M and carrying placards “I Love PM”, “1M4U” etc should be stopped. Nor did he accept many other things I told him not to do or to do if he wanted to be popular. He says “Cash is King”. Still I supported him during the 13th General Elections and after.

3. I did not ask him to step down until the 1MDB scandal. He did not answer to the accusation made against him.

4. Najib has his own advisers, including three Brits. He paid foreign consultants to advise him on Government matters. He also asked Singapore whether he should build the bridge or the high-speed train. When Singapore said no, he shelved those projects. Jho Low is his friend and seems to have considerable hold on him.

5. The fact is that he is their proxy not mine. If he had behaved as my proxy there would have been no 1MDB etc.

RM600 Million Lost

1. I welcome the proposal that the authorities should stop investigating the banking affairs of Dato Sri Najib but instead investigate the allegation by Tunku Aziz that I lost RM600 million in the 80’s.

2. The need is to determine whether the money went into my account at the bank or the money was lost due to the London Market Exchange ruling that the tin bought by us from sellers need not be honoured.

3. If there is evidence that the money went into my account, please charge and arrest me. It is not too late.

4. This offer by me is not intended to deflect attention from the current investigation of Najib’s account. I just want to make people happy.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

1. Malaysia wants to be a true believer in the rights of man, in democracy and the rule of law.

2. We abolished the ISA, the Internal Security Act and the law which provides for restricted residence of habitual criminals.

3. We almost repealed the Anti-Sedition Act which would have won us more praise from the powers that be.

4. We brayed over our subscription to the protection of whistle-blowers. They are good because they deter people from wrong-doing. They expose these miscreants and subject them to due process of law.

5. The Government says the whistle-blowers must be protected. Apparently they are good for our society.

6. Then they whistle-blowed over the wrong-doings of the Head of Government. Suddenly what was considered right became wrong. The whistle-blowers must be investigated and punished. Don’t they know they cannot whistle-blow on the Prime Minister? Others yes. But not the Prime Minister.

7. Point them in other direction. Like the sons of so-and-so. Surely whistle-blowers must know something of their misdeeds. No! You don’t. Can’t you invent something? They are not in the same category as the Prime Minister. It is alright. You will not be charged for whistle-blowing. So blow, blow hard so attention will be deflected from unpleasant issues.

8. But what about those who refuse to blow. What about those who hide the misdeeds which they know. What about the cover-uppers!

9. The law says those who cover-up, hide evidence of crime would be considered as accessory to the crime. They would be aiding and abetting the criminal. They too should be charged, tried and sentenced.

10. Keeping evidence that you have gathered so as to hand over only when the case is proven will not free you from that charge of abetting.

11. There is risk in whistle-blowing. But there is also risk in covering-up, in aiding and abetting. You are really between the devil and the deep sea.

1. I had been rebuked by Anifah Aman, the Foreign Minister for having embarassed the country by being interviewed by an American newspaper “The New York Times”.

2. Maybe Anifah had never read American newspapers before attempting to discredit me as a basis to defend Prime Minister Najib. But the whole world knows about Dato Seri Najib, Jho Low and 1MDB. This is because famous newspapers in Washington, New York and London has published long articles up to four pages about the scandal of 1MDB, Najib with his luxurious lifestyle, Jho Low his close friend and Riza Aziz his stepson who financed porn film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

3. A study by Western experts claimed that Malaysia is one of ten countries with the highest level of corruption in the world.

4. But Anifah is not embarrassed by all of these reports. There is not a single word uttered by him.

5. All statements that tarnished Malaysia were made way before me criticizing Dato Seri Najib.

6. If Anifah feel shameful, he should have been embarrassed at a time when the newspapers reports were made. He should have asked Dato Seri Najib about the scandal and foreign press reports. He should have advised Dato Seri Najib not to be so friendly with Jho Low and prohibit his stepson from posing as a wealthy tycoon.

7. In other countries with such a scandal involving a leader he will resign and beg for forgiveness. But in Malaysia, there are people who defend the leader for no reason, just because for security of position.

8. Indeed, the person who shamed the country is Dato Seri Najib with his 1MDB. This country has never before been ridiculed with allegations that are not answered as it is now.

Friday, July 3, 2015

1. One of the greatest achievements of Malaysia is in the collection of taxes. Malaysians willingly pay taxes. They fear legal action being taken against them. They fear more the raids on their businesses and residences by the income tax authorities. I know this because I was raided when I was expelled from the party and was working as a medical practitioner.

2. They got hold of my cheque stubs and nothing I said would convince them that the money in my account was not all mine. In the end I had to pay more than twice what they claimed I had not declared.

3. The income tax people are always on the lookout for people who live beyond their means. They would raid these people and would force them to pay additional tax should they feel that the culprit had not paid up fully on their wealth.

4. But of late we see some selectivity in the focus of the income tax people.

5. For example the step son of the Prime Minister is reported to have spent hundreds of millions of USD or Ringgit buying luxury residences in London, New York and Hollywood. He also expended many millions to finance the production of the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

6. When the Prime Minister’s Office claimed it was inherited money the brothers of Najib protested. Their father was not rich and did not leave hundreds of millions of Ringgit to the family. Even Najib had to admit that Tun Razak did not have such money to leave to his family. So where did this money come from?

7. It was claimed that the money was from business. If he made so much money from business he would have paid income tax. Has the income tax people investigated him regarding his business profits. How much tax had he paid. It is a secret of course. But I hope it is not a cover-up.

8. Then there is Jho Low. He bought a bank for 260 million US dollars. Where did he get the money. Is it borrowed? Did he sell the bank and paid taxes on the profit.

9. He also bought luxury flats in New York and Hollywood. Where did the hundreds of millions he paid for all these come from? Has he paid tax on them?

10. I believe executives of 1MDB and its subsidiaries are paid high salaries. Have they paid taxes on their earnings?

11. I understand that the Prime Minister as adviser to 1MDB is not paid anything. He is paid the Prime Minister’s salary, which I know is far smaller than what business executives get. But the Government pays allowances, the electricity and water bills, transportation, home, etc. So the salary can all be saved and spent.

12. But still the lavish lifestyle must cost a packet. It must be more than what I saved after 29 years in the Government.

13. It is a secret of course. But I just want to ask, has the income tax people investigated the source of the money and the tax paid.

14. We talk about equality before the law. In this country even the rulers are subject to certain laws. It is the essence of justice. We must be equal before the laws and we must be seen to be equal. Everyone who should be investigated by Government agencies must be investigated. There should be no discrimination.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

1. Competition is good, says the CEO of the Malaysin Automotive Institute (The Edge Malaysia, June 22, 2015). It will benefit consumers and allow local industry players to explore export market.

2. It is therefore good that the Malaysian automotive industry should compete with cars imported from Japan, Korea, China and Germany. Incidentally these countries impose conditions and standards which prevent Malaysian cars from being imported into their countries to compete. So the consumers in Japan, Germany, Korea and China cannot enjoy the benefits of competition like their Malaysian counterparts

3. Some of us may have noticed that in sports for example competition is between people of the same category by age or in football by division. In golf handicaps are given so that the competition would be fair.

4. It is always the same in all competitions. We compare apple to apple and not apple to oranges.

5. Apparently in Malaysia some people may not have noticed it. They have not noticed that the Malaysian industrial capacity is not at the same level as Japan, Korea, China or Germany. We may win in a Quran competition but not, I think, in the automotive field. We do well in badminton and squash but not in football.

6. However if competing is what we have to do to benefit the consumers, we will do it. After all there are more consumers than people in the automotive industry.

7. If we lose we may have to close down. A hundred thousand or so workers, engineers and managers will lose their jobs. Their families will suffer. But that is alright because the consumers will get better cars at lower prices from foreign countries.

8. Of course a lot of Malaysia’s money would flow out to the rich countries and their workers will get higher incomes. But it is Government policy to support imports and we have to accept it.

9. So let us compete and let our consumers enjoy the benefit. The people who lose their job would not be able to consume. But that is a small price to pay.